FLIGHT 57 REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT The iconic lines and wings of a ’57 are right at home next to any airplane.
a red indicator needle that completed the styling cues from the cockpit of the Sabre Jet. Chevrolet wanted its customers to know they were sitting behind something almost supersonic. For Massapequa, Long Island resident Tom Reeks, the ’57 Chevy represents much more than an iconic muscle car, though. Tom’s particular “Shoebox Chevy (as they became known) is a symbol of liberty and freedom from the many hardships he has faced in life. It represents overcoming adversity and
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rising from it like the proverbial phoenix. It represents dedication and hard work. And last, but certainly not least, it represents his passion for cars. Tom first laid eyes on the white Chevy in 2005, just one month after purchasing a stock blue one. It was love at first sight, and he knew he couldn’t live without it, so he made a deal to trade the blue Bel Air for the already modified mid-10-second white ’57. Tom raced the car as it was until he blew the engine, transmission, rear, and in his own words, “everything in
between.” The big bodied Chevy, better known as White Lightning, got its first major upgrade in the form of a 496 nitrous engine, a new Turbo 400, and a Moser 9-inch rear with 3.90 gears. This upgrade took White Lightning from the 10-second class and put her deep into the 9s. Tommy ran the car with that combo for 10 years while he satisfied his need for speed and addiction to horsepower. The ’57 saw its next upgrade with a new 598 cubic inch engine and a 4.56 gear to try and get
december2017 | RPM Magazine